The Actor's Candid Musical Selections: From Early Favorites to Peculiar Dislikes
The first tune I became enamored with
My most primal recollection is walking into a space at kindergarten where they were spinning Yellow Submarine by the Fab Four. I was mesmerized by the sonic landscape, and Lennon shouting: “Full speed ahead!” When it reached the hook, I distinctly thought: “This must be music!”
The very first single I bought
When I was eight years old, I won a competition at school to pick a new record to play at the weekly dance party we had on Friday afternoons. My instructor took me to a local store, and I picked out Come Back My Love by the group Darts. The first record I bought with my own pocket money was Mull of Kintyre by Paul McCartney's Wings from a music store in Colne. It was topping the charts at the time, and I chose it when my father mentioned that it was by a former member of the Beatles.
The song I perform at sing-along
I frankly cannot stand public singing and steer clear at all costs. But if I had to, I’d go with Summer Wind by Ol' Blue Eyes.
The track I inexplicably remember each line to
I not long ago discovered that I have memorized almost the entire lyrical content to The Boy in the Bubble, You Can Call Me Al, and the entire album on Graceland by Paul Simon.
The ideal track to blast at a gathering
It hinges on the point of the evening you are at. At the start it would most likely be I Heard It Through the Grapevine by the soul legend. As the night wears on, I’d work through the Artist, the Stones and Bowie, and when it gets lively, Phat Planet by the electronic act, Born Slippy .NUXX by Underworld, and Ascension by the virtual band, which is an massive track.
The number I can not hear
I inexplicably detest Mr Brightside by the Las Vegas band.
The best song to make love to
Come Together by the Beatles.
The album that transformed me
When I was twelve and beginning to play the six-string, I’d only listen to classic rock ’n’roll, and was consumed by Elvis, the rock pioneer, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran. Then my childminder played Let There Be Rock by AC/DC. It was still guitar music, but it was electrifying rock music. The moment he put the record on the record player, I was a fan for life.
The tune that gets me up in the AM
What’d I Say in its full glory by The Genius.
The piece that brings me to tears
Virtually any music leaves me moved. The Queen of Soul, The Chairman of the Board, Elvis and the Beatles all bring a tear to my eye because of the melody and sheer beauty of the voices. But The Ocean by Richard Hawley strikes a chord consistently.
The song I’d like to be played at my funeral
Elvis. If I’m cremated, I’ll have Burning Love. If I’m laid to rest in the ground, I’ll have Way Down.
